About Me

Elaine Petrowski is a postpartum doula who lives and works in southern Delaware.

Hello, WELCOME and allow me to tell you a bit about myself. I’m Elaine Petrowski, aka Tender Times Doula.I trained to become a post-pregnancy or postpartum doula in 2000, after careers in teaching and magazine editing and writing.(See credentials.)I was trained (twice!) as a postpartum doula by Seventh Moon Perinatal Support Services and Valley Hospital’s Home Health Care doula training program. I am certified by DONA.

As a doula, I’m passionate about the welfare of new parents and their babies. I share my training and knowledge to help my clients transition into their new role as parents. My ultimate goal is to build your confidence in your parenting skills. In effect I “talk myself out of a job” in a few short weeks.

Many clients ask why I became a doula. I did it because I remember how overwhelming it was to bring home a new baby that I didn’t have a clue about caring for. I remember wishing there was someone to help me figure out exactly what to do when my baby cried, spit up, seemed inconsolable, or to tell me how I would know she’d had enough to eat. So I became that person.

I have a wealth of good humor and energy and bring resources, training and information to share. And clients don’t just learn from me. I learn something from every client I work with.

In addition to working as a postpartum doula, I host workshops for expectant parents, as well as a workshop to bring expectant grandparents up-to-date on infant care changes, Infant Massage and Baby Sign language classes. I also moderate a discussion group for new moms (Meet Other Moms) that one first-time mother likened to a “Master’s Degree in being a mom.”

I am a graduate of Ramapo University in Mahwah, NJ, where I earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. I am a member of Doulas of North America (DONA) and Childbirth and Postpartum Professionals Association (CAPPA).

I am also the mother of two wonderful, competent, adult daughters (How I wish I’d known a doula when they came home from the hospital!) and happily answer to ‘Grandy” to two of the most adorable kids on the planet, a boy and a girl.

When I am not working with doula clients, I’m out doing any one of a dozen activities that keep me active, healthy and happy such as kayaking, walking, visiting my grandchildren, gardening (I earned a certificate in Garden Design from The New York Botanical Garden) watercolor painting, researching genealogy, touring a garden or park, maintaining my Tender Times Doula blog and Facebook page . (Click here to “like” and then click “get notifications” to receive great parenting info on an ongoing basis.) I enjoying “playing” with photography and am a lifelong knitter. I’m a huge fan of travel, chocolate and Zumba, never turn down a cup of coffee and wish that pizza was a health food. I love the ocean and the beach and am lucky enough to now live in beautiful southern Delaware.

References furnished on request.

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